


ash on ice

by mehringguie



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga), Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Ice Skating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21938515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mehringguie/pseuds/mehringguie
Summary: Ash and Eiji go on a date during Christmas day. Some pleasant unexpected events occur.(ignore the uncreative title lmao)
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 9
Kudos: 175





	ash on ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ADreamingSongbird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADreamingSongbird/gifts).



> MERRY CHRISTMAS RIMI!!! I AM UR SECRET SANTA!!!!! ilu i hope u enjoy today!!!!! ur my first friend in the bfish fandom and ilu (again!)!!!!
> 
> critic is very welcome, i am new to writing!! thank u as well to cas for proof-reading, ilu!! ;w;

Ash had admitted before; he used to be afraid of the dark and still afraid of pumpkins. He’d gotten that fear due to his silliness, trying to surprise his older brother one Halloween night during his childhood.

But despite that fear of the dark, he can’t help but find comfort in the fact that the first thing he wakes up to is a mop of dark hair. His first instinct was to bury his face in the heap, sighing in content at the action. Ash closed his eyes again, letting himself enjoy the peaceful morning a bit more before he knew that he would be ultimately dragged out of bed by (the currently sleeping form of) Eiji, who he was cuddling. The blond tightened his hold on the smaller form, taking note of the soft fabric that made up his red hoodie. With this and the certain comforting scent that could be described as a warm “bed-smell”, Ash drifted back to sleep.

This was the morning after Christmas Eve, and admittedly they were still both exhausted from the events that transpired the previous night. They had done last-minute Christmas shopping and decorating, adding any finishing touches they forgot to add. And due to that shopping trip, they now owned matching red and blue mugs that Eiji insisted they needed to have (and not that Ash could ever say no to his boyfriend). After that, they now had an apartment filled with various Christmas decorations, food and gifts that had left both of them feeling satisfied. Ibe and Akira visited to join them for dinner later that night, with their dog, Buddy, happily greeting the two at the front door.

After eating their meals (which were mostly KFC and not any Japanese food that stunk, much to Ash’s delight), Ash recalled having a video-call with Shorter (who was wearing one of his infamous ugly Christmas sweaters and shades) and everyone; Max, Nadia, Kong, Bones, Alex, their gangs, Sing and even Cain. Ash couldn’t help but laugh at Buddy’s excitement as the golden retriever recognized the familiar face of Shorter. What irked him was the fact that Yut-Lung Lee, for some reason, was also there. Before he could comment, Eiji elbowed his side and hissed he be nice just for the holidays. Ash begrudgingly agreed, and sensing the tension Sing had intervened and explained that he couldn’t let the youngest Lee spend Christmas alone, and while everyone, especially Shorter, had their justified qualms, they eventually agreed that it would indeed suck spending the holidays alone. With that, Yut-Lung went ( _read: was dragged_ ) to Chang-Dai with Sing to spend Christmas together. Although it was still the morning of the 24th in America due to their time zone differences and they were still preparing and decorating ( _read: Kong and Bones “decorating” and Alex fixing the alignment of the ornaments later on_ ), they called with Ash, Eiji, and the others as if they were in the same time and already celebrating Christmas Eve. Shorter, who owned the phone that was on the other end, jumped from spot to spot in Chang-Dai during the video call, showing them around to see Ash’s gang decorating the restaurant, Nadia and Max cooking Chinese food for their Christmas meals, and Cain, Sing and Yut-Lung chatting away in the other side of the restaurant. When Yut-Lung realized it was Ash and Eiji on the other side of the call, he stiffened and promptly looked away. Before Ash could huff in return, Sing gently nudged Yut-Lung while greeting the two happy holidays, Cain following suite. Reddening in the face but still not facing the camera, Yut-Lung replied with a soft greeting of wishing them happy holidays. While it was not as enthusiastic as the others’ greetings, it was still something they appreciated; not that Ash would admit it though.

After what seemed like almost 4 hours of calling, Ibe and Akira wished them happy holidays before leaving to catch the last train to Izumo. Did Ash forget to mention that he and Eiji currently lived in an apartment in Osaka? No? Now he has. After 2 more hours of the video-call, they decided to end it as it was already 3 am and Ash was pretty sure that if Eiji were to come in contact with a soft surface he would instantly pass out for the next 13 hours. And with that hypothesis proven by Eiji falling asleep once his head had settled on Ash’s shoulder, the blond sleepily laughed and waved them goodbye, all of them greeting Ash and Eiji one last time before they continued on to prepare for their own Christmas Eve and ended the call. After attempting his best at charging his phone without startling Eiji’s sleeping form, he proceeded to scoop the shorter man into his arms and carry him to their shared bedroom (hoping to avoid tripping on Buddy who was sleeping on the living room carpet). He took note that at some point in the night, Eiji must have mixed up Ash’s red hoodie with his own and was currently wearing it. Ash smiled at the thought before he also drifted to sleep.

And here they were now, time currently being 9:34 am. Eiji woke up, feeling arms wrapped around him without the intention of letting go. Eiji couldn’t stop the smile that was forming on his face, still blinking the grogginess away. He was sure that if he let himself stay a bit longer in what could only be described as heaven disguised as him and Ash cuddling in their soft bed, he would never get up. Eiji contemplated that it would be a good idea to just sleep in, but then he remembered promising to take Ash out today for their Christmas date. As much as he loved the people he called his family, nothing beat spending some personal time with your significant other (the fact that Eiji could call Ash that still made his heart flutter). With that in mind, the Japanese man convinced every fiber of his being to get up and not fall for the temptation of staying in Ash’s warm embrace. Eiji patted the desk in search of his phone and finally sat up when the task was accomplished (Ash was still clinging to his waist, still not planning to let him go). Eiji checked the time and proceeded to his notifications, smiling when he opened the various selfies Sing sent of himself and the other’s shenanigans (his personal favorite was a drunken Shorter attempting to make a distressed Yut-Lung drink, what Eiji assumed was, spiked eggnog).

After scrolling through more photos, he attempted to escape Ash’s grip which was proven to be easier said than done. Eiji sighed and wondered if it was worth staying in, but then again he had already bought the tickets for their date today and Ash seemed to be excited, so he took it upon himself to (attempt) escape the blond man’s arms. After a few unsuccessful tries, he finally managed to free himself (replacing his form with a pillow in hopes to disturb Ash as least as possible). Before heading to start the day, Eiji took in the sight in front of him; Ash was sleeping peacefully as he cuddles the pillow he assumed was Eiji, his blond locks strewn about and the sunrays gently hitting his figure making him more beautiful. The dark-haired boy smiled, leaning to place a kiss on the sleeping man’s temple before walking to the kitchen.

“Ash! Ash! Wake up! It’s already 10 am!”

Ash decided that 10 am was too early to be awake, burying his face again in the pillow. He could hear Eiji grumbling something in what he can faintly translate from Japanese as, _stupid American_ , along with Buddy’s barks as if helping to wake him up. He could have cared less if not for the fact that now he was being dragged out of bed like a rag doll on sale he saw the other day. Thank god he was heavier than said doll, because despite his head fogged by sleepiness he could still find himself amused at the Japanese man’s attempts at dragging him out of bed.

_Eiji, you’re an athlete, if you’re going to drag me out of bed at least drag me like one._

As if Eiji were reading his mind, he heard him huff as he was only halfway pulled out of the bed. When Ash felt the lack of hands on his legs he felt like he would be allowed to finally drift back to dream land, only to be interrupted when he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist and legs.

“You are not sleeping in on our Christmas date,” Eiji stated, Ash hearing the pout in his boyfriend’s voice. He couldn’t actually see it; his priorities were keeping his eyes closed to continue his too-good-to-be-disturbed sleep. What he could actually see next is the white tiles of their shared bathroom, his eyes darting open at the sudden contact of cold water on his skin. The blond man hissed, sleepy eyes quickly turning into a glare at the man beside the tub he was currently in, who was annoyingly smirking to himself as if this was his proudest accomplishment of the day.

“You’re mean.”

“And your breakfast is getting cold.”

Ash’s glare softened, but didn’t go away until all he was facing was the closed door to his face. He pouted as he felt the remaining sleepiness in his body being rinsed away in the shower. His jade eyes wandered to the knob that controlled the temperature of the water for the shower. As much of an asshole Eiji Okumura was, he at least did not forget to adjust the temperature wherein the cold water would eventually turn lukewarm-leaning-hot. Ash’s pout faded and he felt himself relax into the tub, the previously ice-cold water growing warmer and warmer. He’ll get Eiji back somehow, but not right now.

* * *

“Figure skating?” Ash questioned, holding the carton of milk in one hand as he entered the living room, Buddy following behind him. Eiji was watching the sports channel, still wearing Ash’s red hoodie he slept in. Ash took note of how big the hoodie actually was on his boyfriend, the sleeves definitely longer than Eiji’s own arms, causing Eiji to have _sweater paws_ while holding the blue mug of the set they had bought yesterday which was containing hot chocolate in his sweater paws. Ash thought, _I know Santa isn’t real, but fuck am I about to start believing because I’m seeing the best gift in the world right now_. Ash shook the thought from his mind before he could die of cuteness. Eiji was definitely a weapon of adorable destruction.

“It’s a report on the Grand Prix Finals held two weeks ago. I heard that Katsuki-san won Japan another silver medal,” Eiji commented fondly as he set his cup down on the living room table, possibly thinking of his own past as an athlete. Ash sat on the couch next to Eiji before he proceeded to lie down on Eiji’s reclined form, looking at the television that displayed Japanese characters that flew past his head, with him only catching words that were roughly translated to “Grand Prix Finals” and “Russian team”.

“Russia?”

“Yup, they’re now showing Viktor Nikiforov and Yuri Plisetsky, who won gold and bronze respectively.”

“Didn’t know you were so into figure skating,” Ash smirked up at the Japanese former athlete, his face resting on his chest. “Surprise me with more of your talents, _onii-chan_.”

“Oh, shut up,” Eiji pouted at the younger man. “It just so happens I’m acquainted with Katsuki-san, and I’ve just tried ice skating enough times to do some minimal research on it.”

Ash raised an eyebrow at him, he should expect Eiji to be interested in other sports than pole-vaulting and track (then again, it’s not surprising because of the toned muscles the older man was equipped with) but to be acquainted with seemingly the best figure skater in Japan? Now, that’s something new.

As if reading his mind again, Eiji stroked Ash’s hair as he continued, “I briefly met Katsuki-san during a vacation in Hasetsu. My family stayed at the hot springs Katsuki-san’s parents ran… Yu-topia, was it? He had posters of him everywhere there; it was hard not to know about his accomplishment as a figure skater. He was coincidentally at home when we had visited, and we just kind of… hit it off when we both found out that we were both athletes, even if it weren’t the same sport.”

Ash hummed as he looked at Eiji, and then asked, “Is that why you wanted to go ice skating today for our date?”

Eiji chuckled softly, “it was a mere coincidence, is all. Ice skating is one of the best activities to do during the winter, and when I heard you haven’t experienced it at all I knew I had to take you. Hey, who knows? Maybe this will be your Olympic wake-up call;” Eiji continued with an announcer’s tone, “Aslan Jade Callenreese, age 22, America’s figure skating men’s discipline representative! Inspired by his date with the love of his life, Eiji Okumura, when he took him out on an ice skating date one Christmas day, such a wholesome winter story!”

“Oh my god, shut up!” Ash reddened slightly as he gently punched Eiji’s arm, earning him a hearty laugh. “So mean! It could happen!” Eiji laughed at Ash’s pout.

“But then again, you wouldn’t be able to do that when you don’t even know how to tie your own ice skates,” Eiji smirked.

“If I ever win gold anytime soon in this sport, I will make sure that you eat your own words.”

Unbeknownst to Ash, he will be the one eating his words.

* * *

And to jinx himself, Ash _was_ eating his own words right now. It was currently 1:00 pm and they finally got themselves out of the house and into the local rink. This was an outside rink, which was popular at the moment as they were only open during the winter season. The rink wasn’t filled with much people at the moment, save from the few children that were wobbly skating next to their parents. Ash thought it was probably because it was too early and most would still be asleep to recover from Christmas Eve’s hype. He now wishes he was one of those people.

Back to eating his own words, Ash finally got himself to balance on the rubber matting with his now-tied ice skates. He _did_ know how to tie his own skates, fuck off Eiji.

When he turned to the entrance of the rink, Eiji was already waiting for him with a smirk on his face. Ash never wanted to slap a smirk off someone’s face so much before. “You have quite the brain power, but let’s see if that’ll do you any good on the ice.”

“Why, you—“ Ash immediately regretted his decision to chase after Eiji as that meant he was close to slipping on his first step on the ice. Fortunately, Eiji hadn’t skated far and managed to catch Ash before his fall. “H-hey, hey, I’m kidding! Take it easy,” Eiji indirectly apologized, helping the half-fallen blond up on his feet again. He didn’t know how the other man didn’t flinch when his grip was as tight as it was. Come on, he dealt with gang wars and _the mafia_ , for fuck’s sake! He shouldn’t be so intimidated by a block of ice!

“Baby steps, alright?” There was a shift in Eiji’s tone as he slowly guided the other across the ice, their steps in sync. Ash could only nod, not taking his eyes off their skates.

Eiji beamed, “hey, you’re doing it! Just try to glide like you usually walk, you’ll get the hang of it!” The shorter of the two continued to guide the other through the ice as they slowly got further from the entrance and to the center of the rink. Ash’s grip on Eiji’s arms loosened the more he got the hang of it, and soon his hands found Eiji’s. Eiji smiled at this, and without letting go of Ash’s hands he put some more distance between them to allow bigger glides on the ice. Eiji was thankful for his ability to back skate, something he personally struggled to master when he first started ice skating.

Eiji took a proper look at Ash; his ears and cheeks were currently tinted with pink (from the cold or their contact, he wasn’t sure), his eyes somehow glimmering with excitement, much like a child’s when they first get to experience something as exciting as this. Soon enough, Ash was gliding smoothly across the ice; slow and small but he had finally got the hang of balancing himself. He finally looked up at his skating partner when he was a bit too late on warning him of the man behind him, “Eiji look o—"

“Look out!"

And before Eiji could see what was happening, he felt himself tumble on the ice as someone glided past through him at full speed, hoping to avoid impact. It succeeded, but Eiji still found himself lying on the ice, dragging Ash along with him. At least the blonde’s fall was cushioned.

“Oh my god- I-I am so sorry I’m—“ the flustered man who had almost bumped into him apologized profusely as he skated towards the two, helping them back on their feet. “I-I did not mean to- I was skating too fast I- Eiji-kun?"

Eiji’s eyes shot up at the owner of the voice and the hand that was helping him and Ash stand up.

“Yuuri-san!?” Eiji gaped as he was pulled back up on his feet, Ash brushing the snow on his coat behind him and still holding onto his hand. Ash faced towards the person Eiji was talking to; another Japanese man who looked to be around his mid-20’s, black hair that was the same length as Eiji's, brown eyes. He was wearing all-black, from his shirt, leggings, and skates- he wore what Ash could only describe as a typical figure-skating outfit.

“This is… Yuuri Katsuki?” Ash started slowly, still eyeing the new acquaintance. “As in, two-time Olympian, recently won silver at the Grand Prix Finals, Yuuri Katsuki?”

Yuuri reddened as he laughed off the comment, “O-oh please, it’s not that big of a deal—“

“It is! I’ve seen a recap of your short program earlier on television, still as skilled as I remember you, Yuuri-san! Congratulations on winning silver,” Eiji complimented, causing Yuuri to bashfully rub the back of his neck. “Thank you… really! And I see you haven’t forgotten your basics, Eiji-kun. I’m glad to see you work on your back skating; I still remember teaching you when we went to Ice Castle back in Hasetsu.”

Somehow, Ash was feeling like the third-wheel to his own date. He was trying to keep up with the pace of their skating, both Japanese men obviously having more experience in skating compared to him. As the conversation of the two faded in his ears, his mind began to wander. Ash looked up at the clear sky, imagining a younger him and Griffin having this peaceful moment on the ice. He wondered; would Griffin be good at ice skating? Or be as bad as he was on the ice? He smiled fondly, melancholically. His jade eyes looked back at man in front of him again, taking in the sight of Eiji laughing at a fond memory the other skater had brought up, his eyes closed as he laughed, cheeks tinted with pink by the cold and hair slightly bouncing to the pace of his gliding on the ice. He was glad that if he could enjoy this moment, it would be with Eiji.

“This is Ash, yes?”

Hearing his name made the American snap his attention back to the conversation, suddenly feeling a bit flustered at his daydreaming. Eiji nodded, “Yeah, he’s the lucky guy who gets to eat _natto_ with me every day.”

“Aha, is that so?” Ash swore Yuuri shot him an almost sympathetic look, wishing him luck. Ash was glad that some Japanese people still had good taste in food.

“You two should visit us again at Hasetsu! I know how much you love my mother’s katsudon, I’m sure Ash would love it as well.” Yuuri smiled at the two, switching to a back skating position to have a better angle at conversing.

“ _Please_ , anything other than the fish and natto he feeds me every day,” Ash stressed, receiving a chuckle from Yuuri and a huff from Eiji in return. “You Americans can never understand the delicacy that is natto, I swear!”

“I’m sorry, _onii-chan_ , but it seems that you’re the one who does not understand what a delicacy means.” Ash sent his boyfriend a teasing pout, earning him a gasp of betrayal. Eiji turned to Yuuri, who sweated slightly as his eyes darted somewhere else.

“Oh my god, you two are teaming up against me! Yuuri-san, how could you!”

Yuuri chuckled nervously, “h-he does have a point… I don’t think natto is for everybody.”

“Or anybody, in fact,” Ash added, triumphantly earning another anti-natto comrade.

“You two are the wors—“ Eiji was cut off as their attention was drawn to a figure who almost knocked Yuuri onto the ice, much similarly to the incident earlier.

“YUURI!”

Their attention was now on a tall silver-colored haired man, who was currently hugging Yuuri to death. Ash looked over at Eiji, who was somehow deep in thought as he stared at the man in front of them. Ash shot him a questioning look as Eiji tapped his chin,

“V… Viktor… Nikiforov, right?”

“That would be the one and only me!” the man hugging Yuuri beamed, and Ash swore he went blind for 0.5 seconds.

“Would you like to take a picture with me and my Yuuri?” Viktor smiled as he continued to hug Yuuri tightly, Ash taking notice of the matching rings they both had. Ash took note that he should get him and Eiji that sometime in the future.

“V-viktor, please! These are friends of mine! And please, любовь моя, let me go before we both fall,” Yuuri whined softly in Viktor’s embrace. To Eiji’s confusion, it only made Viktor gasp happily and hug Yuuri closer.

 _My love_ , Ash’s brain automatically translated from Russian to English. Viktor must be the Russian skater mentioned earlier on the news, but he doesn’t know why _Yuuri_ would be the one speaking Russian.

“любовь моя?” Ash questioned with a slight smirk on his face, catching both Viktor and Yuuri’s attention. Yuuri, realizing what he had said, reddened at the face and buried his face into Viktor’s chest as the taller man laughed.

“Ты можешь говорить на русском?” (“ _Do you speak Russian?”_ ) Viktor directed at Ash.

After a few seconds of translating the sentence in his head, Ash replied in accented Russian, “Немного.” (“ _Little_.”) His attention switching from Viktor’s bright smile to the hand squeezing his, followed by an inquiry from the owner of the hand, “Why didn’t you tell me you spoke Russian?”

“It never came up,” Ash shrugged playfully, earning himself a pout. “Besides, I’m already balancing English and Japanese, I don’t want to give myself a headache by adding Russian into my life.”

“Quite difficult, no?” Viktor said, resting his head on top of Yuuri’s hair as he gently stroked it. “I remember when I took up Japanese for my dear husband; balancing three languages, how tedious! But so worth it! Not to mention my fluency in French, though I barely use it… Maybe a bit of German? It’s been a while since I used it, but then again I only ever need to speak in Engl—“ the hyper man was cut off by the shorter man he was embracing, not allowing him to ramble on further in case he were to scare his friends away.

“H-husband!? Yuuri-san, you’re married!?” Eiji gaped for the second time that day, in shock as he took in the new information. Ash, who had already noticed the rings and terms of endearment in Russian, feigned shock to match Eiji’s.

“Yeah, this is my husband, Viktor Nikiforov.”

Viktor coughed.

Yuuri sighed. “Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov,” he corrected himself, and Viktor giggled at that. Yuuri swore, he was married to a child sometimes.

“Thank you for the correction, солнышко~,” ( _sunshine_ ) Viktor made a face before continuing, “however, how rude of you not to introduce your friends to me too!”

“Then maybe you should let me properly introduce you next time when you aren’t skating towards me at 103 km per hour,” Yuuri returned a knowing smirk.

“Oh, солнышко, you know I can’t help it! I cannot stand being apart from you for so long!” Viktor pouted again, pulling Yuuri closer to him as if it were physically possible.

Eiji laughed softly at the amount of affection displayed in front of them right now, gently squeezing his own grip on Ash’s hand as he waddled closer to his own partner. Ash smiled at the gesture before returning his gaze at the couple in front of them. Their date did not end up being the most private one, but it’s so far one of the most fun. It was unusual, finding himself be more open with strangers than he used to be. But it didn’t seem so bad, the married couple seemed nice. Ash was glad he woke up earlier today.

“This is Ash and Eiji-kun, Eiji-kun has visited Yu-topia before,” Yuuri introduced them, finally free from Viktor’s embrace (still holding hands, though).

Viktor shot them his signature heart-shaped smile as he shook their hands, telling them how glad he is to meet more of Yuuri’s friends. Yuuri’s friends are his own friends, of course!

“And where are you from, Ash? You look quite familiar,” Viktor smiled.

 _Familiar?_ Ash raised his eyebrow before replying, “New York, America. Moved here four years ago with Eiji.”

“Wow! How romantic! Falling in love in the City of Dreams!”

Eiji and Ash shot each other a glance before chuckling nervously, “Yeah, super romantic.” _Definitely_ that, no gang wars, mafias, drugs, or any of those sorts involved.

“O-oh my god, I just realized… I’m so sorry, you two. I didn’t even think that this might have been a date, I’m sorry for suddenly interrupting,” Yuuri smiled apologetically.

Ash found himself snickering softly, “It’s all good, I’m glad to have met the two of you.”

“Let us make it up to them! I know! It might not be as good as Mama Katsuki’s cooking, but we should have a double-date at the nearby katsudon restaurant!” Viktor suggested before he continued, “Such a cozy place too! I have so many questions to ask both of you; unfortunately, I am the curious type!”

The Russian continued to chat away as he skated towards the edge of the rink, still holding his husband’s hand. Eiji smiled at Ash, as if asking for confirmation to continue skating, and when he got a smile and a nod back, he began to glide after the married couple.

* * *

“I… I guess we do look alike, hair and eyes and all,” Ash said as he looked at a picture of Yuri Plisetsky on Viktor’s phone, thinking back to when Viktor commented that he looked familiar.

“Right?” Viktor grinned before eating another piece of katsudon.

The quartet was now at a nearby katsudon restaurant after ice skating, somehow turning it into a double-date. It caught the attention of some customers, having two _very_ attractive foreigners enter a restaurant together was quite a sight to behold. After settling down into their table, Viktor carried out the conversation as he chatted away about various topics, from his huge admiration he had for his husband, to his dog Makkachin (who was currently staying with the Katsuki family), and eventually the conversation went to their rink mates in Russia and bringing up Yurio (who is in Russia, at the moment). Ash also took note of the fact that today was Viktor’s birthday, and the two were celebrating it with a “Christmas winter” date.

“At least you don’t seem to be the grumpy type like our son! He’s always scowling and cursing… he’ll regret that once he has wrinkles all over his face when he’s older!” Viktor sighed as he put a hand on his heart, talking as if he truly was the father of this boy.

“Please, Ash is definitely the grumpy type, especially in the morning,” Eiji laughed as he sipped his miso soup, ignoring the pout Ash was sending his way.

“I’m sorry, onii-chan, but I’m not the one who will be getting the wrinkles anytime soon,” Ash retorted, making Eiji choke on his soup.

“I’ve had enough of you— we will be eating natto for the rest of the week!”

An imaginary question mark popped up above Viktor’s head as he saw Ash look absolutely horrified at the threat (?).

“Why? What’s so bad about it?” Viktor tilted his head as the two looked at him in surprise. Then, they turned their attention to Yuuri.

“Huh? Well… my family never really bought natto so…” Yuuri laughed nervously. Viktor seemed not too pleased with the response, then his face changed with an emotion that could be described as determination as he took the restaurant’s menu again, “we are going to order and try this natto food ourselves!”

Eiji looked all too excited when he agreed with Viktor, both of them ignoring the terror present on Ash’s face and the slight aversion in Yuuri’s expression. The American shot the Japanese figure skater a look, getting a sympathetic smile in return. They were both fucked.

* * *

“That was not so bad, you two are just mean!” Eiji told Yuuri and Ash, who were both looking sick as they followed him and Viktor out the restaurant.

Apparently, by some work of the devil himself, Viktor liked natto (a win for Eiji!). In fact, the platinum-haired man ordered a bowl for each person on the table, Eiji more than happy to receive his share. He was way too generous on his birthday.

_“It’s my birthday treat!” Viktor smiled._

What? My sickness? _Ash and Yuuri both thought._

After the natto incident, Ash and Yuuri felt like they understood each other a little more. Yuuri shot Ash a desperate smile, trying his best to comfort the blonde. Ash patted his back, assuring him that he can fight alone and that the figure skater should fend for himself.

“We should definitely do this again sometime! Oh, next time we should bring Makkachin and your dog, Buddy!” Viktor beamed as he pried himself away from his and Eiji’s conversation.

Yuuri smiled fondly as he took Viktor’s hand and stood beside him, “Definitely, if you two are up for it.”

Eiji looked at Ash for confirmation, Ash exhaled and smiled as if saying _of course_. Eiji grinned and nodded at Viktor and Yuuri, “yeah! Let’s do this again sometime! Buddy would love to meet Makkachin, I’m sure.”

Viktor lightened up as he hugged both Ash and Eiji, thanking them for the fun night. Ash slightly flustered at the contact, still not used to his new touchy-feely friend. When they finally parted, Viktor went back to holding Yuuri’s hand and wished them a merry Christmas. The pair wished the same to the other couple, and they went on their separate ways; Viktor and Yuuri to their car and Eiji and Ash heading to the train station.

The train ride home was quiet, with Ash resting his head on top of Eiji’s, who was leaning on his partner’s shoulder. Their destination was still 4 stops away, so they took it upon themselves to rest a bit from today’s events, finding comfort in each other as their fingers were intertwined.

Ash admitted that this was still all so new to him; he couldn't believe that this was his life now, it felt so... _normal_. He hasn’t felt this elated, this _happy_ , in such a long time. Even if it has been four years since he left America, his old lifestyle was still fresh in his mind. It had been a rough transition for him. He wasn’t used to the security, the safety and the comfort. He wasn’t used to not feeling either a gun or a knife at the back of his pants, or not having to always look out for your back. He wasn’t used to being open to the idea of letting complete strangers become his friends overnight. It was all so new and took some time to getting used to. He even thought sometimes that he didn’t deserve all this. However, today somehow reminded him of his progress of being better in his new life. He was here now, happy and content. He was living with the love of his life, his soulmate, who gave him everything and expected nothing in return. He now even gained two new friends here in Japan somehow and it still wasn’t all a dream. Ash always asked any higher being what he did to acquire a new beginning, but he already knew that Eiji would answer for him; it was what he deserved. And for now, Ash allows himself to wholeheartedly believe in that thought.


End file.
